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As I climbed the struts of the bridge and traversed horizontally over the Indus river, I looked back to see my other companions still inside the car - least interested in the bridge. Only Arjun had stepped out with me, who was now zooming his camera to capture the yellow writing on the rock across the river. It said “3 Idiots Shooting Point”. After crossing Upshi, we were taking a break at the Mahe bridge – of 3 Idiots fame – which cuts across the Indus river. If you remember the bridge where Farhan and Raju turn the car to head to Manali, you would know which bridge I am talking about.

There is absolutely nothing special about the bridge, but if appearing in a superhit movie can cause people to stop and click pictures of an ordinary structure as this; it is expected what commercialization can do to spectacular places like Pangong Tso. While Pangong is now fighting the war of conservation and commercialization (thanks to 3 Idiots), Tso Moriri still lies untouched, unperturbed … Virgin! Tso Moriri is not thronged by even half the number of tourists that Pangong gets every year. And that’s where we were heading – off the beaten track!

Day 11, 9th July 2014, Wednesday : After spending the previous day lazing out and shopping, it was finally time to say good bye to our base - Leh. We drove through the Leh-Manali highway till we reached Upshi, and from the roundabout at Upshi, we took the left turn. For most part of the journey, we had the Indus river as company. At one point we passed the town of Chumathang. Sonam ji, our driver, told us there is a monastery in this town. But by now we have had Gompa Overdose, so we treated the town as pit stop and then drove ahead.

And then came the Mahe bridge. I had to get off the bridge once I started getting threats from the boys that they would drive off without me or even worse - throw me into the Indus and then drive off.

The Mahe bridge leads to the Changthang region of Ladakh. Changthang is a high altitude plateau, only a small part of which extends to Ladakh, the rest being in northern Tibet.

Somewhere at Changthang Plateau

The drive through Changthang was one of the most delighful drive we had had in Ladakh. There are meadows on both sides of the road with wild horses grazing here and there. Till Sumdo, the tarmac is in very good condition. We stopped at a dhaba at Sumdo for tea and maggi. There we met a pair of lovely mountain dogs, a pair of marmots and a handsome biker (no pair thankfully ).

No pictures of Mr. Biker unfortunately :(

The dogs were so furry that they could have given competition to any good breed dog. They were also the first dogs I had met who preferred being fed momos and not biscuits.

An hour or so before reaching Tso Moriri, we crossed another small yet beautiful lake called Tso Kiagar. The sparkling turquoise color of Tso Kiagar is just 'Wow'-inspiring!

Tso Kiagar

At one point, we left the road and off-roaded through a vast plateau, making our own track - a mix of sand and dirt trails. Changthang region is home to both Pangong Tso and Tso Moriri. Situated in the secluded Rupshu valley, Tso Moriri is situated at a higher altitude than Pangong Tso. A brackish lake like Pangong, Tso Moriri is the largest high altitude lake in India that is entirely in India.

In 2002, Tso Moriri was declared a Ramsar Site and as claimed, it is the highest Ramsar site in the world. What is a Ramsar site?

Ramsar is a city in Iran, where the Ramsar Convention was signed - an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands. These protected wetlands are called Ramsar sites. Why protect wetlands? A wetland is the most biologically diverse ecosystem serving as home to wide range of flora and fauna. Presently there are 168 contracting nations. India has 26 Ramsar sites, some of the well known ones being Chandrataal (HP), Chilika Lake (Odissa) , Loktak Lake (Manipur), Sambhar Lake(Rajasthan) and Vembanad Lake (Kerala).

Top : Off-roading on a plateau; Bottom: Fence around Tso Moriri wildlife reserve

Though inner line permits are no longer required, the Army at the check post demanded to meet the group leader. From a car that had male majority, a woman walking ahead and shaking his hand, attracted quite a lot of attention from his comrades. He was very friendly (wonder if the reaction would have stayed the same for male group leaders :D ) and let us enter after checking our passports. As I sat back in my shotgun position, I turned around and gave the boys the ‘Who’s your daddy’ look .

We took the right turn from the main entrance of Tso Moriri wild life reserve and continued for few kilometers to reach Korzok. Unlike Pangong, settlement or pitching of camps/tents are not allowed on the shores of Tso Moriri. Why? Because it is a Ramsar site, of course!

Top left : Tso Moriri camp & resort ; Top right : Korzok village

We checked into Tso Moriri camp and resort for the night. We have already had an amazing experience of staying beside a high altitude lake at Pangong. The difference was we had to walk from Korzok to the lake this time. The distance which initially seemed short felt like never ending as we kept walking towards it. Or may be we were getting breathless faster at such high altitude.

When we finally reached the shores, we tried to spot the major differences between Tso Moriri and Pangong, apart from the obvious geographical statistics. Tso Moriri is beautiful in its own way due to the fact that it is flanked by way more lofty mountains and is bordered by the Tso Moriri wild life reserve where you can see Tibetan wild ass, marmots and many migratory birds. Whereas Pangong keeps changing its shade of blue, Tso Moriri stayed a brilliant shade of ink blue all the time.

Standing at the shore of either Tso Moriri or Pangong Tso, it is easy to lose yourself to their spectacular beauty and forget the humanized world you have left behind. For me Pangong Tso was like a love story. It holds a special place in my heart. But it would yet be unfair to compare it with Tso Moriri as both are unique in their beauty.

It was tough to believe that it was our last night at Ladakh. We were heading out of Ladakh the next day, through the Leh Manali highway.

It's only yesterday that I came to know about #30Stays - a series of 30 questions that Booking.com is asking travelers to tweet about on each day of this September. I thought - Damn! I am so late. But it is always better to be late than never!

The 22nd question on the 22nd day of September- ‘Most beautiful place on earth’ is really subjective, since the definition of beauty is subjective. To me, the most beautiful places on earth are those that had made me fall head over heels in love with them at first sight. (Whoever said love at first sight is a myth, hasn't been traveling!)

And my list contains three such places – not just one. (Forgive me for I don’t want to hold a tiebreaker)

1. Appenzell, Switzerland

Have you read Enid Blyton’s Famous Five in those teenage years? The Five setting off on adventures of their own, on their cycles, investigating and chasing crooks over rolling meadows and staying the nights at the barns of farming families. Well we almost felt like Enid Blyton’s protagonists at Appenzell. It was not the Moors, yet the pre alpine scenery of rolling green hills, meadows dotted with farming houses and a stream meandering through it, was just picture perfect. We did not have cycles to ride through the winding road flanking the meadow; instead we trusted our restless feet. We stayed at a barn in the night, slept on the straws after getting high on Swiss wine and had farm made breakfast in the morning sitting at the porch of our rustic barn overlooking the overdose of green and listening to the melodious ring of the cow bell. The only things missing were the crooks and our teenage years.

The quaint little Swiss town with dark chocolate colored mountain chalets, still makes my heart ache thinking I couldn’t spend much time there. At the foot of the iconic Matterhorn, lies Zermatt, a car-free mountaineering and ski resort. Whether you are there to climb the Matterhorn (Hah! I said it like it’s just a walk in the park :P) or for skiing during the winters or mountain biking or marvel at the alpine surroundings from your cozy chalet room or to just gawp at the Matterhorn as the sun sets on the Pennine Alp, Zermatt is sure to win your heart and provide you with an unforgettable stay.

This one always has me at a loss of words, so I kept it for the last. If Switzerland is as beautiful as a Queen, Ladakh of India is like a King – majestic and ruthless. Among that ruthless lunar landscape is nestled one of the highest brackish lakes of the world, it’s expanse of shocking bright blue - a photographer’s delight. Pangong Tso means ‘Long, narrow, enchanting’ lake and just as the name suggests, it holds you spellbound. This panoramic and mystical epitome of beauty, changes its shade of blue as the sun rises and sets over it. It’s different avatars from azure to turqouise to indigo and so on, will make you think probably the lake knows more shades of blues that you do.

After being ticked off by Hemis Festival (2014), I did an online research and put up this list of lesser known monastic festivals where you can see Chham dances without having to reserve place or getting insulted. These monasteries might not be as wealthy as Hemis Monastery, but you will get a heartwarming treatment there. Here you go -

To start with, I had always wanted to attend Hemis Festival. The colors, the costumes and especially the Tibetan culture has always fascinated me. This was the sole reason I planned the Ladakh trip during the overcrowded season of July 2014. The famed festival however, had left me a bit disappointed for some unexpected reasons (Wait... I'll come to that part soon!).

My friends were least interested in Hemis Festival (and more in their cozy blankets that morning). So I decided to set sail alone. I have always enjoyed solo travel, but by some luck, Pru waved out at me from her first floor window. I was introduced to her only a day before at our Leh hotel. Pru, a montessori teacher from South Africa, had come to Ladakh to attend the Kalachakra Initiations by Dalai Lama. And I'm glad that I asked her to accompany me to Hemis that day.

Day 9, July 7th 2014, Monday : While driving to Pangong we had taken the left road from Karu. For Hemis, you take the right road, cross the river and proceed ahead. At first glance Hemis reminded me of a secret Inca city. Hidden within the towering mountains, it is not visible to you until you are close enough.

Hemis Monastery

Hemis Festival is probably one of the grandest birthday celebrations I have ever seen. This 2 day festival celebrates Guru Padmasambhava's birth anniversary. For all those who don't know much about Buddhism, this Guru I'm talking about, was the founder of Tantric Buddhism (Vajrayana) in Tibet.

The start of Hemis Festival is signaled by blowing of two 3 metre long brass trumpets and the Head Lama bringing out the portrait of Guru Padmasambhava into the courtyard. Then starts the colorful Chham dances - the main highlight of the festival, performed by the resident Lamas of the monastery. The Lamas dance around the central flagpole in the monastery's courtyard, on the beats and music of cymbals, drums and long horns. This costumed dance drama depicts the feats performed by Guru Padmasambhava, with an underlying message of the victory of good over evil.

The masks they wear are unique and depict various guardian divinities of the Dugpa order of Buddhism. The eccentric robes and aprons are made of colorful brocade. This year even the four-storey thangka (sacred Buddhist painting) of the Guru was hung in the courtyard, which apparently doesn't happen every year.

Top : Head Lama bringing out the portrait of Guru Padmasambhava
Bottom left : 3 metre long brass trumpets; Bottom right : The start of Chham dances

Top (left and right) : Procession of Guru Padmasambhava

Chham dances

Hemis Festival can be fairly entertaining if not for these 3 reasons -

1.Damn the Reservation System! - If school, college and those government job interviews were not enough, here is one more place in India where you would face the vices of Reservation System. But wait! Here they maintain the top down approach, i.e. places being reserved for Foreigners, Indian Army, Police personnels, other VVIPs and their family. There are no placards saying so, but you will be shunted off the moment you try to sit down on an unmarked supposedly reserved chair. The first floor chairs from where me and Pru were asked to leave by an Army officer was later occupied by only one officer and his wife and son, who arrived at the festival midway. The rest of the chairs lay empty till the end.

So if you are a nobody, you will have to 'scavenge' around for a place on the crowded ground surrounding the dancing arena. The funda of first-come-first-serve won't serve you here!

2. Media Blues - Hemis Festival is highly commercialized and attracts media from across the globe. Whether they are press photographers or documentary makers, everyone wants a scoop of the story. After already being shunted around so much, all you would want is more shunting if you by mistake happen to click a picture or shoot a video standing near a media guy who claims that it is his shooting territory. Hmph! And may Guru Padmasambhava save you in case you happen to step in front of any Channel's camera.

3. Where is the Narrator? - If you don't know about the theme of good fighting the evil spirits, you might miss the entire story and leave thinking it is just a costumed dance around a flagpole. If you aren't that ignorant and want to know more about the Chham dances being performed, you would still want to ask - Can someone please translate?

Top left : Head Lama of Hemis Monastery; Top right : A statue of Buddha perched on the adjacent hill
Bottom left : That's Pru; Bottom right : Bizarre hats!!!

I lost my cool when a Lama and a policeman asked me and Pru to move from an unreserved place where we were standing (not even sitting), saying something about not paying an entry fee. Now for your information, you don't need to buy an entry ticket for Hemis. There are only donation counters at the entrance, where we had paid 200 bucks mistaking it as entry fee. Hemis is the wealthiest monastery in Ladakh and it wouldn't be hard to guess where all the wealth comes from. With a straight face I told the policeman I wouldn't move an inch.

I left the place only when slow drum beats started making me feel sleepy and the Chham dance, though graceful and performed in synchronized manner, started getting repetitive. I unexpectedly found 3 friends in midst of the crowd and realized the world is a small place. We decided to explore the monastery instead and interacted with many locals in the due course.

Top Left : A girl who had come with her father to see the festival.

Top Right : A Ladakhi mother with her new born baby, who had come to take blessings at the monastery.

Bottom Left : Woman at the monastery preparing momos... yumm! yumm! Feast after the Fest??

Bottom Right : A friendly monk. They almost get as much attention as a celebrity.

When I later left the monastery with Pru, she seemed very happy and kept thanking me for getting her with me to Hemis Festival. May be it was a new experience for her, but I was still amazed by her enthusiasm as she was shunted around all the time along with me, in spite of her being a westerner.

Then again, it was still an experience - the colors, the bizarre masks and all the more bizarre costumes. One should never repent experiences. As far as I am concerned, I did not even repent leaving my friends back at the hotel. Because someone has got to tell the real scoop!

I managed to click around 200 colorful photos and if I have not turned you off enough, you can still consider Hemis Festival as a good photography expedition, provided you can grab a good vantage point like I did and brave the reservation scouts and the media. If not, there are other less commercialized monastic festivals in India where you can head to.Here is a list.

I did wonder why I didn't see a single snow lion though!

Here is the reason - The dance of snow lions and yaks are typical to Sikkim monasteries. Singhi Chham, as the lion costumed dance is known as, has religious association with Mount Kanchenjunga. Whereas the Yak dance depicts the movements of the yak, the Sikkimese herdman’s best friend and the simple lifestyle of the herdsmen of the mountains.